The Lever's David Sirota on challenging 'corporate media'

The Lever founder David Sirota joins me to discuss why corporate media still sets the terms of the political conversation, even as its business model weakens. We get into the opening for independent investigative outlets, why reader funding brings its own pressures, and the challenge of serving an audience that sometimes wants its beliefs affirmed more than its assumptions challenged. We also discuss what Zohran Mamdani understands about media and why the left needs to do more than copy the right’s playbook. Chapters: 01:33 Media Standpoint Critique 09:40 Right vs Left Media Ecosystems 14:15 Building Progressive Media 21:50 Lever Reporting Playbook 34:54 Incentives Audience Capture 39:59 Culture Wars 51:06 2028 Outlook